Pad-lock anchor system



July 26, 1966 P. A. DANTz 3,252,412

PAD-LOCK ANCHOR SYSTEM Filed Nov. 23, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 #fram/sagJuly 26, 1966 P. A. DANTz 3,262,412

PAD-LOCK ANCHOR SYSTEM Filed Nov. 25, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 gpm/L.rZUM/rz,

United States Patent O 3,262,412 PAD-LOCK ANCHOR SYSTEM Paul A. Dantz,Ventura, Calif., assigner to the United States of America as representedby the Secretary of the Navy Filed Nov. 23, 1964, Ser. No. 413,381

Claims. (Cl. 114-206) The invention described herein may be manufacturedand used by or for the Government of the United States of America forgovernmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon ortherefor.

The present invention relates to an underwater anchoring apparatus andmore particularly to an anchoring apparatus which will provide upward,bearing and horizontal support at the floor of the ooe-an or at thebottom of any other body of water.

Anchors constitute one of the oldest arts known to man and have beenused for anchoring all types of waterborne objects such as ships,ibuoys, towers, off-shore drilling rigs and platforms. Quite often theseobjects, such as towers, drilling rigs and platforms, require ananchoring device or devices which will withstand forces in alldirections. The United States Navy is presently working on projects forthe construction of underwater sea laboratories. These submergedlaboratories must be anchored by an anchoring device which is capable ofresisting uplift, bearing and horizontal forces. In order to providesuch an anchoring device it has been necessary in the past to use drivenor cast-in-place piles. While pilings provide a good support in alldirections, they are very time consuming to install and are generallylimited to depths of about three hundred feet, since the driving orboring operation must be carried on by a barge at the surface of thewater. Y'

Three other known anchoring devices for mooring objects inthe ocean arethe conventional drag type of anchor, the dead weight type of anchor andthe propellent embedded anchor. The drag type anchor consists basicallylof a stem and iiukes.- When the anchor is drawn along the ocean floorthe flukes are tilted at a downward angle and embedded in the floor toprovide holding resistance tov a connecting line. The holding power ofthe drag anchor is generally restricted to the direction in which it wasdrawn and there is only limited holding power in other directions. Otherdisadvantages of the drag type anchor is that it must be dragged aconsiderable distance before it finally embeds in the ocean door andevenafter embedment a large area is required for its use because of thenecessary catenary in the mooring line.

Dead weight anchors are masses of material which, when placed on theocean floor, provide a resistance primarily to uplift and bea-ringforces. In order to provide the dead weight anchor with good horizontalholding power it must be made excessively large which materiallyincreases the handling problems. Accordingly, this type `of anchor hasbeen generally confined for anchoring small objects or installations.

The propellant embedded or explosive anchor includes an anchor which isdriven into the ocean floor by an eX- plosive charge. After tiring, thistype of anchor is usually set by applying an upward force on aconnecting line so as to cause anchor flukes to open and embed in theocean oor. The holding power of this anchor in the upward and horizontaldirections is good, however, it provides a very poor bearing support.Because of the advantages of the explosive anchor it would be desirableto provide a means or apparatus which would be capable of combining theholding power of a plurality of explosive anchors as well as providingbea-ring supp-ort therefor.

The present invention provides an anchoring apparatus 3,262,4l2 PatentedJuly 26, 1966 lCe which overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages ofthe prior art anchors. The present anchoring apparatus can be located ata precise area on the ocean'iloor to resist forces from all directions.This may be accomplished by providing a frame assembly having a top anda bott-om; a housing mounted within said frame assembly; support andanchor driving means mounted at a plurality of frame locations forproviding bearing support and for driving anc-hors downwardly into thebottom -of the water; a cable connected to each respective anchor andextending therefrom into said housing; a cable winding assembly mountedwithin said housing, each of said cables being connected to said cablewinding assembly so as to be capable of being wound thereon; and meanswithin said housing for driving said cable winding assembly.Accordingly, after firing the anchor driving means the frame can bedrawn tight against the bottom of the water by winding the cables on thecable winding assembly. The present anchoring assembly may be providedwith additional advantages by pivoting each support means to the frameassembly so that the anchoring apparatus will automatically adjust tothe irregular contours of the floor of the ocean and pulleys may bemounted at selected locatioiis on the frame assembly to cooperate withthe cable so to greatly enhance the holding power of the anchoringassembly. Further, the construction of the present anchoring assemblyenables it to be operated at practically any depth within the ocean.This may be accomp-lished by providing an actuation means, within thehousing, which is responsive to remote control from the surface foractuating the anchor driving means and the cable winding assembly.

An object of the presen-t invention is to provide an underwateranchoring apparatus which overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages ofprior art anchors;

Another object is to provide an anchoring apparatus which will resistupward, horizontal and downward forces with a greater holding power thanthat obtained with prior art anchoring devices;

A further object is to provide a simply installed anchoring apparatuswhich will resist forces from all directions, can be installed at aprecise location on the oceans floor and which will automatically adjustto irregular iloor bottoms to provide a good bearing support;

Stil-l another object is to provide an anchoring apparatus which willresist forces from all directions and which can be remotely operatedfrom a surface location; and

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description of the inventionwhen considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG.- l is a top plan view of the anchoring apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the anchoring apparatus installed onan irregular floor of the ocean;

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view through a cylindrical housingwith some of the components therein shown in schematic form;

FIG. 4 is a side View of a portion of the frame and the support andanchor driving means prior to firing the anchor-and with portions cut.away to show the details thereof; and j FIG. 5 is a side view similarto FIG. 4 after the anchor has been fired into the floor of the Oce-an.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals designatelike or similar parts throughout the several views, there is shown inFIGS. 1 and 2 an anchoring apparatus 10 which may include a tripodialframe assembly having three legs 12 which are joined at their top endsto a cylindrical housing 14. The legs 12 may be connected lat theirbottom ends to respective support and anchor driving means 15 forproviding bearing support and for driving an anchor downwardly into thebo'ttom of the water. The frame assembly may include lateral bracingbars 16 which are connected between the legs 12. If desired, anotherseries of legs 18 may be connected in tripodial relationship at theirupper ends to the housing 14 and at their bottom ends to the support andanchor driving means 15. The cylindrical housing 14 may be positionedwithits longitudinal axis lying along the central axis of the tripodialframe assembly. A top end of the housing 14 may be provided with amooring eye 20 and the cylindrical wall may be provided at its lower endwith three apert-ures 22 which are adapted to receive cables withinthehousing, as will be fully described hereinafter.

The support and anchor driving means 15 may include a bearing plate 24and an upstanding anchor tiring tube 26 which is connected at its bottomend to the top of the bearing plate. The bottom end of the firing tube26 may open through the bearing plate 24 and housed within the tiringtube is an anchor 28 which is directed downwardly for tiring through thetube opening. plates 30 may be welded to the exterior of the firing tube26 and the top of the bearing plate 24 so as to provide reinforcement.

The anchor 28 may include a lower cylindrical rod 32 which is rigidlyconnected to and aligned with an upper cylindrical tube 34. The lowercylindrical rod 32 may be partially inserted within the cylindrical tube34 so as to close off the bottom end of the tube 34, leaving theremainder of the tube open. Connected to the bottom end of thecylindrical rod 32 is a conical shaped nose 36 which is capable ofcutting through the material in the bottom of the water. A pair ofilukes 38 may be pivoted at their bottom ends to the bottom of the rod32 immediately above the anchor nose 36 so that the flukes may berotated between a closed position against the rod 32, as shown in FIG.4, to an open position, as shown in FIG. 5. An arm 40 may be pivotallyconnected at one end to each respective fluke 3S and `may be slidablyconnected at an opposite end to rod 32 by -a crosswise bar 42 whichrides within an internal slot 44 along the rod 32. The internal slot 44may be terminated at a predetermined distance above the bottom end ofrod 32 so that the ukes 38 will open at an acute angle with respect tothe rod 32, as shown in FIG. 5. Accordingly, after driving the anchor 28into the bottom of the water an upward pull on the anchor will cause theukes 38 to open. If desired, the upper end of each uke 38 may beslightly ared so as to enhance the opening operation of the flukes.

At the upper end of the anchor rod 34 is pivotally connected a U-shapedswivel 46 which is capable of pivoting to one side of the tube 34 so asto leave the top end of the tube open. A cable 48 is connected by an eye50 to the swivel 46 and may extend from the tiring tube 26 to arespective aperture 22 within the housing 14 for -a purpose which willbe described fully hereinafter.

The anchor 28 may be driven into the floor of the water explosively asshown in FIGS. 4 and 5. This may be accomplished by providing a rod 52which is mounted within the tiring tube 26 so as to extend downwardlyand slidably within the anchor tube 34. The rod 32 terminates a distanceabove the bottom closed end of the anchor tube 34 so as to provide aspace for a charge of propellant 54. An ignitor wire 56 is connected toa top end of the firing tube 26 and may extend downwardly within the rod52 until it terminates at a squib 53 adjacent the `charge of propellant54. The ignitor wire 56 may extend in an opposite direction from thetiring tube 26 along a respective frame assembly leg 12 'and then intothe housing 14 to an actuator which will be described fully hereinafter.It is to be understood that while an explosive firing means has beendescribed for driving the anchor 28 into the bottom of the water, otherdriving Triangular web means may be employed, such as pneumatic power oreven the water .pressure itself.

A cable reservoir 58 may be mounted on the top of the bearing plate 24adjacent to the tiring tube 26. The cable reservoir 58 may be open atits top as well as its bottom with the bottom opening being open throughthe bearing plate 24. A pulley 60 may be connected to a respective frameleg 12 by a pair of plates 62 so as to substantially overlie the topopening in the reservoir 58 as well as the bottom area in which theanchor 28 is to be driven. Prior to firing the anchor 28, as shown inFIG. 4, the cable extends from the anchor swivel 46 downwardly withinthe tiring tube 26, through the bottom opening in the firing tube 26,into the cable reservoir 58 where it is coiled to provide a suflicientlength, over the pulley 60 and then into the housing 14 as describedhereinabove. Accordingly, after tiring the anchor 28, as shown in FIG.5, the holding power of the anchor 28 can be transferred substantiallyupward from the anchor to the pulley 60 and thereafter substantiallyhorizontally to the housing 14.

Mounted within a lower portion of housing 14 is a cable winding assemblywhich is capable of winding each of the cables 48 until they are drawntightly against the driven anchors 28. The cable winding assembly mayinclude three separate drums 64 which are rotatably mounted within thehousing 14 by a shaft 66. The shaft 66 extends along the longitudinalaxis of the housing 14 and is journaled within a plurality of bearings68 which are in turn mounted to transverse plates 70 within the housing.Each of the cables 48 is connected to a respective drum 64 and iscapable of being wound thereon.

Mounted within the housing 14 above the winding as sembly is a motor 72and a gear box 74, the motor having an output shaft which is connectedto the gear box and the gear box having a nal stage gear (not shown)connected to the uppermost winding assembly shaft 66. The gear box maybe` supported by one of the transverse plates 7) and another transverseplate 70 may support the motor 72. The plate 78 supporting the gear box74l may also seal the gear box from the water environment. Mounted onstill further transverse plates 70 and within the housing 14 is a pairof batteries 76 for providing the necessary current to operate the motor74 and ignite the squibs 53.

Mounted on one of the transverse plates 70 is an actuation means 78which may draw current from batteries 76 through batttery cables 80 andymay be operatively connected to the motor 72 by a lead 82 and furthermay be operatively connected to the propellant ignitor squibs 53 by theignitor wires 56. Accordingly, upon operation of the actuation means 78the motor is driven so as to operate the cable drums 64 and current isfed through the ignitor wires 56 to ignite the propellant charge 54 anddrive the anchor 28 into the floor of the water.

The actuation means may be remotely operated by radio control from aship at the surface of the water. This may be' accomplished by providingthe actuation -means 78 with a small receiver (not shown) which isresponsive to a transmitter at the ship. The actuation means receivermay have two channels, one channel for operating the motor 72 and theother channel for igniting the propellant. Since remote control betweena transmitter and a receiver is so well known in the art it will not bedescribed in any more detail herein. If desired, leads could be rundirectly from the motor 72 and the propellant squib 53 to the surfaceship, however, these leads may become quite long when the anchoringapparatus 10 is operated at great depths within the ocean.

A cable 84 may be connected between the `mooring eye 20 and a surfaceship. This cable may be used for lowering the anchoring apparatus intothe water until it comes to rest on the bottom thereof. The unitarycompact construction of the anchoring apparatus enables it to be placedat a predetermined location on the bottom of the water.

Often the bottom of the water is irregular, as shown in FIG. 2. In orderthat the bearing plates 24 will provide l a good bearing support for theanchoring apparatus on an irregular bottom, the support and anchordriving means may be pivotally connected to a respective one of theframe legs 12. This may be accomplished by a ba-ll and socket joint, asshown in FIG. 4. A flange 86 may extend radially from the tiring tube 26for the support of a ball 88 and a socket extension 90 may be mounted atthe end of the frame leg 12 so as to receive the ball. Each socketextension 90 may be provided with a release mechanism so that the socketextension 90 may be released from the ball 88. Accordingly, the ball andsocket joint enables the support and anchor driving means 15 to bepivoted in any vertical plane. As shown in FIG. 2, the left support andanchor driving means 15 is located on a lower portion of the bottom yofthe water than the right support and Aanchor driving means 15. In spiteof this irregularity in the bottom, both support and anchor drivingmeans 15 rest .substantially llat on the bottom by the pivoting actiondescribed above.

In the `operation -of the anchoring apparatus the cable 84 may be used.to lower the anchoring apparatus 10 into the water until it 4comes torest on' the bottom of the water. At that time the bearing plates 24 arepivoted until the anchoring apparatus provides a good bearing support.After the anchoring apparatus has come to rest at a desired location onthe bottom of the water the radio transmitter at the support ship may beused to actuate a receiver channel in the actuation means 78 so as to rethe anchors 28 into the bottom of the water. After the anchors 28 havebeen red the radio transmitter may be used to activate another receiverchannel in the actuation means 78 so as to drive the motor 72. This willcause the cable drums 64 to reel in the cables 48. Upon applying atension to the cables 48, the ukes 38 of the anchors 28 will open andsecure the anchors 28 to the bottom material. The motor 72 can be of apredetermined power capacity so that it will stall out when the ukes 38open or alternatively, a limiting switch may be used in conjunction withthe motor to allow itto make only a specied number of turns. After thecables 48 have been tensioned the ancho-ring apparatus is fullyoperative for anchoring purposes. Various objects, whether oating orsubmerged, may then be anchored to the anchoring apparatus at themooring eye or by connections to the frame legs 12 and 18.

It is to be noted that upon iiring the anchor 28 that the swivel 46 willbe t-o one side of the anchor tube 34 and will not interfere therewith.After the anchor 28 is driven into the bottom of the water the cable 48will follow the anchor out lof the firing tube 26 and will then commenceto pay out of the cable reservoir 58. By locating the pulley 60 so as tosubstantially -overlie the cable reservoir 58 and the bottom area wherethe anchor 28 is driven, a substantially vertical pull is appliedbetween the pulley 60 and the anchor 28, as shown in FIG. 5. This willprovide for a maximum holding power at the pulleys 60 against any upwardforce.

It is now readily apparent that the present invention provides a uniqueanchoring apparatus and had advantages long sought for in the anchoringart. The anchoring apparatus is compact and yet has unusual holdingpower in all directions whether the forces be applied downwardly,horizontally or upwardly. The unique operation of the anchoringapparatus 10 enables it to be installed at any known depth within theocean. By providing ball and socket joints between the frame legs 12 andthe 4support and anchor driving means 15, the anchoring apparatus willprovidea good bearing support even on an irregular bottom of water.Further by locating the pulleys 60 in a predetermined location, maximumholding power is provided for the anchoring apparatus against upwardpulls.

I claim:

1. An underwater anchoring apparatus which is fixable to the bottom of abody of water comprising:

a frame assembly having atop and a bottom;

a housing mounted within said frame assembly;

support and anchor driving mean-s mounted at a plurality of respectivelocations on said frame assembly for providing bearing support and fordriving anchors downwardly into the bottom of the water;

a cable connected to each respective anchor and extending therefrom intosaid housing;

a -cable winding assembly mounted within said housing, each of saidcables being connected to the winding assembly so as to be capable ofbeing wound thereon; and

means within said housing for driving said cable winding assemblywhereby after driving the anchors into the bottom of the water the framecan be drawn tight against the bottom by winding said cables on thecable winding assembly.

2. An underwater anchoring apparatus which is xable to the bottom of abody of water comprising:

a frame assembly having at least three legs which are joined at theirtops and which slope downwardly and terminate at their bottom endssubstantially in a common plane;

an elongated housing which is joined to the tops of the legs and whichextends downwardly generally along the central axis of said frame;

support and anchor driving means connected to the bottom end of eachrespective leg for providing bearing support at each leg end and fordriving a respective anchor downwardly into the bottom of the water;

a cable connected to each respective anchor and extending therefrom intosaid housing;

a cable winding assembly mounted within said housing, each of saidcables being connected to the winding assembly so as to be capable ofbeing wound thereon; and

means within said housing for driving said cable winding assemblywhereby after driving the anchors into the bottom of the water the framecan be drawn tight against the bottom by winding said cables on thecable winding assembly.

3. An underwater anchoring apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein:

the support and anchor driving means is pivotally connected to thebottom end of each respective leg.

4. An underwater 4anchoring apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein:

a pulley is connected to each leg so as to substantially overlie thebottom area in which the respective anchor will be driven; and

each of the cables extending over a respective pulley.

5. An underwater anchoring apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein:

the support of the support and anchor driving means includes a bearingplate which is adapted to rest on the bottom of the water;

the anchor driving means includes an upstanding blast tube mounted onsaid4 bearing plate and opens downwardly therethrough;

each of said anchors being located within a respective one of the blasttubes;

a cable reservoir mounted on said bearing plate adjacent said blast tubeand opening upwardly as well as downwardly through said bearing plate;and each of said cables extending into a respective reservoir and into arespective blast tube where it is connected to one of the anchors.

6. An underwater anchoring apparatus as claimed in claim `5 wherein:

each of said blast tubes is pivotally connected to a respective end ofone of said legs.

7. An underwater anchoring apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein:

a pulley is connected to each leg so as to substantially overlie arespective cable reservoir; and each of the cables extending over arespective pulley. 8. An anchoring apparatus as claimed in claim 2wherein:

the cable winding assembly includes drum means mounted with its axis ofrotation along the longitudinal axis of said housing; and the drivingmeans is connected to the drum means so as to be capable ofsimultaneously winding the cables on said drum means. 9. `An anchoringapparatus as claimed in claim 2 iucluding:

means responsive to remote control, mounted within said housing andoperatively connected to each anchor driving means and the cable windingdrive :means for selective actuation thereof. 10. An underwateranchoring apparatus which is xable to the bottom of a body of watercomprising:

a tripodial frame assembly having three legs which are joined at theirtops and which slope downwardly and terminate at their bottom endssubstantially in a common plane;

an elongated housing which is joined to the tops o f said legs and whichextends downwardly generally along the central axis of said frame, saidhousing having a mooring eye mounted at a top thereof;

support and explosive anchor driving means connected to the bottom endof each respective leg for providing bearing support at each leg and fordriving a respective anchor downwardly into the bottom of the water;

the support of the support and explosive anchor driving means includinga bearing plate which is adapted to rest on the bottom of the water;

said explosive anchor driving means including `an upstanding blast tubemounted on said bearing plate and opening downwardly therethrough;

each of the anchors being located within a respective blast tube;

a cable reservoir mounted on said bearing plate adjacent said blast tubeand opening upwardly as well as downwardly through said bearing plate;

a pulley connected to each leg and located so as to substantiallyoverlie a respective cable reservoir;

a cable winding assembly mounted within said housing;

a cable connected to each respective anchor, wound within a respectivecable reservoir, extending over a respective pulley and connected tosaid cable winding assembly;

means within said casing for driving said cable winding assembly; and

means responsive to remote control, mounted within said housing andoperatively connected to each explosive anchor driving means and theanchor assembly driving means for selective actuation thereof.

No references cited.

MILTON BUCHLER, Primaly Examiner'.

T. M. BLIX, Assistant Examiner.

1. AN UNDERWATER ANCHORING APPARATUS WHICH IS FIXABLE TO THE BOTTOM OF ABODY OF WATER COMPRISING: A FRAME ASSEMBLY HAVING A TOP AND A BOTTOM; AHOUSING MOUNTED WITHIN SAID FRAME ASSEMBLY; SUPORT AND ANCHOR DRIVINGMEANS MOUNTED AT A PLURALITY OF RESPECTIVE LOCATIONS ON SAID FRAMEASSEMBLY FOR PROVIDING BEARING SUPORT AND FOR DRIVING ANOCHRS DOWNWARDLYINTO THE BOTTOM OF THE WATER; A CABLE CONNECTED TO EACH RESPECTIVELYANCHOR AND EXTENDING THEREFROM INTO SAID HOUSING; A CABLE WINDINGASSEMBLY MOUNTED WITHIN SAID HOUSING,